Zynga’s stock price climbs after new platform announcement

The announcement of Zynga’s new platform has caused the company’s stock prices to jump like an American bulldog leaping for a piece of steak. By the time the markets closed yesterday, Zynga’s shares had climbed nearly ten percent, trading at $14.48 a share. That’s up 50% from what the shares initially sold at when the company first went public.

It seems that the reveal of Zynga.com/Zynga Direct has boosted investors’ confidence in the social games giant, as the new platform more or less frees the company from its dependence on Facebook. When Zynga went public last December, its stock had some trouble taking off, and its value has gone up and down since.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Zynga’s new platform will be a success, but the fact that it breaks the developer away from Facebook’s shackles is a pretty big deal. Moreover, aside from classic microtransactions, Zynga will have additional revenue streams via advertising and even third-party game publication.

These are interesting times for Zynga, and for social gaming in general. Zynga’s most iconic game, FarmVille, is still wrapped up in Facebook and will remain exclusive to that platform until 2015, but social gaming has evolved beyond Farmville. What will Zynga do with the property once it’s free to roam on Zynga.com?